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Here Is Your God – part 1
Isaiah 40:1-31 (1-5)
January 28, 2024

This morning we begin a NEW SEGMENT here in our study of Isaiah.
And, as I told you Sunday night, this final segment
Is the reason for being compelled to preach through Isaiah.

It is 27 chapters of the glorious goodness and preeminence of God.
I can’t think of another segment in Scripture
That more thoroughly focuses on our great Savior than this one.

Now, as we begin this segment as a whole,
There is perhaps some WORK WE NEED TO DO.

First and foremost we must address the issue of
The authorship of the final 27 chapters of Isaiah.

Now, because you and I are simple people who just tend to read the Bible and take it at face value it is likely that you have never questioned this.

But, you should know that there is an academic world out there that casts tremendous doubt as to whether Isaiah was the actual author of this final half, and thus casts doubt on whether or not the last half of the book should even be included in the canon of Scripture.

In fact some attributed the final half of Isaiah to multiple authors.

WHY?
Because clearly, as you will see in Isaiah 40, the issue at hand is the Babylonian captivity.
• The people being addressed here are spoken to as those who are currently in
captivity in Babylon.
• And since the Babylonian captivity occurred 100 years after the time of Isaiah
many have suggested that there is no way that Isaiah could have written it.

These same scholars also balk at the accuracy of events that Isaiah declared, for example:
Isaiah 45:1-3 “Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right hand, To subdue nations before him And to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. “I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.”

• That specific prophecy causes much skepticism by scholars because you have
here Isaiah calling Cyrus by name 175 years before he was even born.
• Several have said that there is no way Isaiah could have written it.

So they concede to the first half of the book
Since Isaiah obviously lived with Hezekiah during the Assyrian invasion,
But they attribute the final half to someone else.

Well, obviously for us that poses a question.
Why do we believe Isaiah wrote all of the book?
Is it just because someone before us stuck those pages in the binder and labeled them Isaiah?

Well, it’s not hard to tell you why we believe it.

Now, as a secondary proof I can tell you that every scroll they have ever found of Isaiah always had it together, so there is no archaeological proof to assert anything other than it is all Isaiah’s work.

But that’s not even why we believe it.

HERE IS WHY:
Matthew 3:3 “For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’”

John 1:23 “He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Now both of those men quoted from the last half of Isaiah.
• There they both quoted Isaiah 40:3 and both John the Baptist and Matthew said that it was the words of Isaiah.

Matthew will do it again:
Matthew 8:17 “This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.”

• That time Matthew quoted from Isaiah 53:4 and said it was Isaiah’s writing.

And again:
Matthew 12:17-21 “This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES. “HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS. “A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY. “AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE.”

• That time quoting from Isaiah 42:1-3

The apostle John affirmed it:
John 12:38 “This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?”

• Quoting from Isaiah 53:1

Luke wrote the book of Acts and he affirmed it along with Philip:
Acts 8:29-33 “Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH. “IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY; WHO WILL RELATE HIS GENERATION? FOR HIS LIFE IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH.”

• Luke and Philip quoted Isaiah 53:7-8 and said it was Isaiah.

The apostle Paul quoted him as well.
Romans 10:20-21 “And Isaiah is very bold and says, “I WAS FOUND BY THOSE WHO DID NOT SEEK ME, I BECAME MANIFEST TO THOSE WHO DID NOT ASK FOR ME.” But as for Israel He says, “ALL THE DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE.”

• There Paul quoted Isaiah 65:1-2 and said it was the words of Isaiah.

So we say that scholars can doubt and skeptics can question,
But if we have to believe Matthew, John the Baptist, the apostle John, Luke, Philip, and Paul or them, I’ll guess we’ll stick with the apostles.

That means that Isaiah did write the last half of this book
And that he accurately declared things that were going to occur
Hundreds of years beyond him.

And that should not surprise us.
After all, this same Isaiah, in the first uncontested half of his book also predicted:
• The Assyrian invasion
• The fall of Israel
• The fall of many contemporary nations
• The virgin birth
• The coming Messiah

He even spoke of events in the first half of the book that still have yet to be fulfilled, like the Millennial kingdom and the wolf dwelling with the lamb, etc.

So we are not surprised that God would use this same Isaiah
To speak accurately and truthfully about the coming Babylonian exile.

It is in fact confirmation that Isaiah spoke the very words of God.

Now, one other thing I think I would note.
There is no doubt that Isaiah speaks of the Babylonian captives and the struggles of Babylon and God’s promise deliverance from that place.

That is clearly seen.

But Isaiah also speaks of a time far beyond that.
• Isaiah speaks also of a coming Christ and His sacrifice for sinners.
• Isaiah speaks also of the day when Israel will come to Him and be saved.
• It is a glorious prophecy of God of many things that even we as the 21st century church long for and look forward to.

This is a tremendous section of Scripture
That God has given to us through this prophet named Isaiah.

AND THIS MORNING WE BEGIN WITH CHAPTER 40.
So let’s introduce it a little as well.

THE POINT of the chapter could not be clearer.
We see it in verse 1, “Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.”

God repeats it twice so that there is no confusion
What the benefit of this sermon is meant to be.

God’s people are meant to study this chapter
And come away comforted.

That word “comfort” is (Na-Kham)
• In its base root form it speaks of “sighing or even groaning”.
• It’s like when you see someone hurting and you sort of gasp and groan for
them.
• It brings with it then a sympathy and a desire to give consolation and
comfort to those who grieve.

AND THAT IS WHAT GOD IS DOING HERE.
He groans and sighs with sympathy to extend mercy to His people.

And it is so important that you understand this about our God.
• He is NOT cruel.
• He is NOT bitter.
• He is NOT aloof.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

• Paul actually calls Him “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort”
• And incidentally Paul wrote this referring to a time in his life when he despaired even of life.

Things like mercy and compassion and assurance and comfort
Are things that come to us only from God, and He delights to give them.

NOW IT IS TRUE that from God’s perspective, because of our sinfulness, that times of discipline are sometimes necessary.

Certainly these who are in Babylon are there because of the disciplinary hand of God.
• It is God who sent Babylon.
• It is God who exiled His people.
• Discipline was necessary.

But we also know that His discipline doesn’t last forever.

Hebrews 12:10-11 “For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

• Discipline is there referred to as “a short time”.
• And always to benefit us, not destroy us.

1 Peter 5:10 “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”

• There again discipline is said to be “for a little while”
• Then “the God of all grace” rushes in to “perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”

He is the God of comfort.
He is the Father of mercies.

And the people here who have been disciplined by His own hand
Are now approached by Him that He may now comfort them.

SO UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE OF THE CHAPTER.
• It is not to confront.
• It is not to condemn.
• It is not to guilt or rub salt in the wound.

The purpose of the chapter is to comfort His people.

We also see in this chapter why this comfort is needed.
God’s people had fallen into despair.

(40:27) “Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?”

There you see the condition of these people.
• They had actually spoken this lament with their mouth.
• “My way is hidden from the LORD, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”

These people who were exiled to Babylon
• Had lamented that God no longer cared for them.
• They lamented that God no longer saw them in their affliction.
• They lamented that God would not do anything to vindicate them or bring justice to their situation.

Now, let’s discuss for a moment where this all came from.

TURN TO: 2 KINGS 25:1-12
There you read the historical account of Nebuchadnezzar’s sacking of Jerusalem.

• So for about 18 months Nebuchadnezzar surrounded the city to cut off supply
• By the end of that year and half the famine was so bad that city was penetrated.

• Zedekiah fled, but he was captured and they put out his eyes.
• Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem and he burned the temple.
• He burned the king’s house and all the great houses of the city.
• They broke down the wall around Jerusalem.
• And those that survived were carried away to Babylon.

These exiles witnessed Nebuchadnezzar doing what they thought could not be done.
• He entered God’s city and burned down God’s temple and carried away God’s people.

The only explanation that the survivors could give was that
God has abandoned us.

In a sense they were correct, for Ezekiel actually saw
The glory of the LORD depart from the city.

We also gain great help in understanding their condition from the book of Lamentations.

TURN TO: LAMENTATIONS 2:1-10

• There all the horrors that occurred in Jerusalem are listed,
• But the credit for all of it is very directly given to God’s hand.
• God did this.

And now you have exiles in Babylon wondering if God
Has totally abandoned them and rejected them and forgotten them.

All Israel ever had on her side
• Was the presence of the God of the universe.
• They never had any other reason for their existence or continuation.

And now that it appears God has abandoned them,
They are in the pit of despair.

“My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God.”

But Isaiah 40 addresses the fallacy of that belief.
Isaiah 40 is written to extend comfort to the one who has fallen for that lie.
• Even in your suffering, your way is not hidden from God.
• Even in your injustice, God has not failed to notice.
• God does not abandon His people, ever.

• Discipline? Yes
• Suffering? Possibly
• Abandonment? Never

And so God writes here to offer consolation and comfort to His people.

And He does so by addressing THE REASON FOR THEIR DESPAIR.

And the simple point to explain why they are in despair is because
THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN WHO THEIR GOD IS.

If you want to fall into despair JUST FORGET who God is.
• Just forget who He is.
• Just forget what He does.
• Just forget what He says.

This was actually how the writer of Hebrews addressed those who suffered in his day.

Hebrews 12:4-6 “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.”

They had “forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons”
• You have forgotten what God said about your trials.

Comfort comes when you remember that
God’s discipline does not reveal abandonment;
God’s discipline reveals sonship.

If God brings discipline into your life
• It is NOT BECAUSE He hates you and has kicked you to the curb,
• It IS BECAUSE He loves you and is being a Father to you.

And really, even just that one reality
Can bring such comfort to one who is suffering.

NOW, ISAIAH 40 DOES THE SAME.
It is written to comfort those who are in despair.

And the manner through with this comfort will come
Is in correcting their understanding of God.

In fact, verse 9 has the great statement, “Here is your God!”

When you remember correctly who He is,
It will change your attitude in the midst of your trials.

And Isaiah 40 seeks to remind these broken exiles of 3 things.
• His Promises (1-11)
• His Power (12-26)
• His Perseverance (27-31)

And incidentally, every one of these things
Is intricately linked to the gospel we enjoy in the New Testament.

Is. 40 is NOT just a reminder of God’s promises, power, & perseverance,
It IS a reminder of God’s promises, power, & perseverance in the gospel.

Isaiah 40 is a call to those in despair to remember the God of the gospel.
• Remember His gospel promises.
• Remember His gospel power.
• Remember His perseverance to bring about the realities of the gospel in our
lives.

And when you remember that, comfort comes with it.

So let’s start working on them, and may the result of these truths about God
Bring comfort to your heart as well.

#1 GOD’S PROMISES
Isaiah 40:1-11

Now, I want to break these 11 verses down a little further so as to more clearly see the specifics of this promise that they and we are called to remember.

1) THE COMFORT OF HIS PROMISES (1-2)

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God. “Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the LORD’S hand Double for all her sins.”

Obviously the message begins, as we said,
With God’s aim to bring “Comfort” to His people.

There we are confronted first with both THE AIM & THE AUDIENCE.
• This is NOT a universal passage to everyone in the world.
• This is NOT God’s intent that all men everywhere should grasp this comfort.
• This comfort is for those whom He calls, “My people”

That is not to say
• That sinners can’t become the people of God through repentance and faith, for certainly they can.
• His offer is open that “whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
• That is available.

But it is only those who call upon His name and believe in Him
Who are His people and only they are the recipients of His comfort.

This is a promise made to His covenant people.
We see it is a promise made to those who are “in Jesus Christ”

And this is NO EMPTY WISH for the comfort of His people.
His comfort IS BASED ON A REALITY.

That reality is found in GOD’S PROMISE TO FORGIVE SIN.

(2) “Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the LORD’S hand Double for all her sins.”

Now let’s first understand this verse from the perspective of those refugees who dwell in Babylon,
• Having felt the fury of God’s discipline by sending them to Babylon.

Why are they there?

As we saw in Lamentations, God sent them there.
They are being disciplined for their sin.

As part of the Mosaic covenant we learned that if they failed to obey all of God’s commands then one of the consequences was to be exiled to a foreign land.

Deuteronomy 28:30-37 “You shall betroth a wife, but another man will violate her; you shall build a house, but you will not live in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but you will not use its fruit. “Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat of it; your donkey shall be torn away from you, and will not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you will have none to save you. “Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and yearn for them continually; but there will be nothing you can do. “A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors, and you will never be anything but oppressed and crushed continually. “You shall be driven mad by the sight of what you see. “The LORD will strike you on the knees and legs with sore boils, from which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head. “The LORD will bring you and your king, whom you set over you, to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone. “You shall become a horror, a proverb, and a taunt among all the people where the LORD drives you.”

• The reason these exiles now live in Babylon…
• The reason the temple was burned…
• The reason the city was destroyed…

Is because God’s people sinned against God
And He has disciplined them to turn them from their sin.

And we saw how distraught they were at the reality of it.
They actually felt as though God has abandoned them.

But here Isaiah chimes in to say,
• “No! God has not abandoned you.”
• In fact, “God has forgiven you!”

• Your “warfare has ended”
• Your “iniquity has been removed”
• You have “received of the LORD’S hand double for all [your] sins.”

• The time of God’s discipline on you has ended.
• The time of your sanctification is complete.
• You have endured all that God would put you through.

Now the gospel DOES NOT PERMIT us to see this as justification,
As though they, through their own suffering, have now paid for their sins.

This, rather, is reference to them having been sufficiently disciplined
And now cleansed of the iniquity that sent them there.

You may remember that Jeremiah announced how long it would take:
Jeremiah 29:10 “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.”

Daniel, in the 67th year of the exile read that verse from Jeremiah and it prompted him to write the greatest prayer of repentance recorded anywhere in Scripture.

Daniel 9:1-3 “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.”

He prays a great prayer which we don’t have time to go through this morning, but it culminates here:
Daniel 9:17-19 “So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. “O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

Daniel actually does there
What Isaiah hopes the exiles will do upon reading Isaiah 40.

Daniel, from a position of discipline,
Takes the promise of God’s restoration
And finds comfort in the fact that God forgives sinners.

AND THAT IS THE INITIAL PURPOSE OF THIS TEXT.
• To take those, who are under God’s discipline,
• And to remind them of this gospel truth that God forgives His children
• So that they do not lose heart.

That is what we call – GOOD NEWS!

DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT ABOUT GOD?

That even if your trial is a direct result of your sins,
(And sometimes they are.)
That even then God forgives His own.

So maybe you did something sinful and you know that you are getting what you deserve from God.

Where do you find hope in that?

In this truth: GOD FORGIVES SINNERS

Exodus 34:6-7 “Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

Leviticus 26:44-45 “Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. ‘But I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the LORD.’”

Psalms 86:5 “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.”

Psalms 130:3-4 “If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.”

GOD FORGIVES SINNERS (HOW MUCH MORE HIS CHILDREN).
• He is patient and longsuffering and kind.
• He does punish sinners.
• He does bring discipline.
• He does sanctify.
• But He also forgives.

And certainly when God took on human flesh and dwelled among us
We saw the most complete revelation of God the world has ever known.

Jesus “explained Him”

And in Jesus we saw forgiveness.

We think of the paralytic:
Matthew 9:2 “And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”

We think of the woman with a horrible reputation:
Luke 7:48 “Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”

We think of His promise at the Last Supper:
Matthew 26:28 “for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”

We think of His statement on the cross:
Luke 23:34 “But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.”

His apostles certainly understood the purpose for which He came and the heart with which He operated.

And when they went out into the world they preached:
Acts 10:43 “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

Acts 13:38 “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,”

When people believed their message, those same apostles then wrote to the churches to give them comfort by reminding them of these great promises:

Colossians 1:14 “in [Jesus] we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Colossians 2:13 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,”

And based on those realities you even have the apostles looking directly at you in the church and giving you these undeniable promises:

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 2:12 “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake.”

And I think certainly you get the point.
“Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes in the morning.”

OUR GOD HAS PROMISED TO FORGIVE US.

So do you find yourself in despair?
• Do you find yourself perhaps even under God’s discipline?
• Do you look at life’s circumstances and wonder if God has abandoned you completely?

If you have fallen into that pit
It is because you have forgotten this first gospel promise.

God forgives sinners, how much more His children.
He is never far away.
His discipline is temporary.
His forgiveness is promised.

Jesus Christ hung upon the cross
With the sin of His people imputed to His account
And He paid the price in full for that sin.

And based upon what He did, there is forgiveness.

Romans 8:1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.”

It comes to us like a gentle mother.
The dad has just severely disciplined us for our sin.

And every kid at that moment has the thought:
• “I guess they don’t love me anymore.”
• “My parents hate me.”
• “I think I’ll run away.”

It is then that our mother comes in and comforts us that we are loved.

We are loved and we are forgiven.
THAT IS GOD.

And Isaiah reminds God’s people of that promise here.
• While God is angry at the wicked every day.
• While God does have wrath for those in rebellion.
• For His people He has forgiveness.

Take a deep breath there church.
God has and does and will forgive you.

The comfort of His promises
2) THE CONTENT OF HIS PROMISES (3-5)

“A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. “Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

• We have started the book of Romans with the youth on Wednesday nights.
• We actually have the write up about it in the bulletin this morning.

If you want to sum up the gospel in one concise sentence, it is this:
“The gospel is the person and work of Jesus Christ.”

JESUS IS THE CONTENT

Isaiah next comforts us with the promise of a coming Savior.

verse 5, “Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

God’s glorious reigning King and certified Savior is coming!
He is coming to reveal “the glory of the LORD”

Jesus is the content of the promises of God.
2 Corinthians 1:20 “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.”

He is the subject of what God has been promising.
• One to crush the serpent’s head.
• One who will come and give us rest.
• One who will be our ark to carry us through the judgment.
• The seed of Abraham through whom all will be blessed.
• Our Melchizedek who is both priest and King.
• A prophet greater than Moses.
• The giant slayer who delivers His people.
• The One who will shut the lion’s mouth.
• The One who will deliver us from the burning flames.

God has promised to send Him,
• Born of a virgin,
• Of the line of David,
• In Bethlehem,
• Seated on a donkey’s colt,
• Pierced in His hands and feet,
• But not able to undergo decay.
• Returning to reign over a kingdom of perfect justice
• He will trample His enemies under foot
• He will save His people

Isaiah 35:3-10 “Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.” Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah. The scorched land will become a pool And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes. A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it. No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, And the ransomed of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.”

And isn’t that what a refugee wants to hear?
Take comfort, God has forgiven you and the King is one His way to save you!

News like that is the source of comfort for all who are in despair.

WE ARE OUT OF TIME THIS MORNING,

But I hope you are seeing how to overcome the despair of this life.

Don’t forget the promises of God.
As His child, in Christ Jesus,
• You are forgiven,
• And He is coming to save you!

We’ll pick back up with this tonight.

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The Pride of Hezekiah – part 2
Isaiah 38:1-39:8 (38:17-39:8)
January 21, 2024

Here tonight we want to jump back in where we left off this morning.

We are still in that first point, which we have called:
#1 A TRIAL TO HUMBLE
Isaiah 38:1-22

We have been looking at the revealed pride of Hezekiah
And how God sent a disease and a threat of death to humble him.

We saw:
• THE REVELATION – that God told him he would die as a result of his illness.
• THE RESUME – Hezekiah’s reasoning for why God should spare him.
• THE RESPONSE – God responds to Hezekiah’s prayer and heals him.
• THE REASSURANCE – Hezekiah wanted proof and God gave a sign.

And we are currently discussing that fifth point which is:
THE RE-TELLING

Verses 9-20 are a writing of Hezekiah where he explains
His attitude and focus during the event and after God healed him.

Now this morning we only worked right up to verse 16,
Or really the first line of verse 17.

And we saw Hezekiah’s confusion and bitterness and anger.
• He reasoned himself to have been unjustly cut off in the prime of his life and
was bitter about it.
• He asked God to restore him to health, and God did.

WE ENDED THIS MORNING talking about HIS PRIDE.
It is obvious that he had a very high view of himself.

• He was proud of his accomplishments, failing to acknowledge God’s hand in it.
• He was grieved at his perceived mistreatment, assuming he deserved better.
• He expected God to deliver as though he had earned that right.

Even a great king like Hezekiah had fallen prey to subtle pride
And we understood that God sent this trial to humble him.

We understand how pride can rise up in any of us.

And we pondered in closing this morning
This important passage from Paul.

1 Corinthians 10:12-13 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

Temptation can swoop in from anywhere
And Satan is not beyond tempting when you feel the strongest.

IS IT A COINCIDENCE that Satan threw temptation at Jesus immediately after He had been verbally endorsed by God from heaven as His beloved Son?

IS IT A COINCIDENCE that right after Peter was affirmed as being a rock by confessing Jesus as the Messiah that Satan would bait him to rebuke Jesus?

We are all familiar with Paul’s famous testimony.
He saw a heavenly vision and then what did God immediately do?

2 Corinthians 12:7 “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!”

Even in those moments when you feel like your doing the best,
Be careful temptation is real.

Well, Hezekiah had fallen prey to it and his pride was easy to see.

WHERE LEFT OFF THIS MORNING
Is right at the point in his own story where God determined to heal him.

(17) “Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness; It is You who has kept my soul from the pit of nothingness, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.”

Hezekiah recounted the great bitterness of his soul.
But then he acknowledges that God intervened and delivered.

He says, “It is You who has kept my soul from the pit of nothingness, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.”

Obviously in play here is Hezekiah’s understanding that
This near-death experience was at least in part due to some sin in his life.

That also helps to explain
Why he was so quick to deliver his resume of good works.
Hezekiah was arguing for his own righteousness.

But Hezekiah did seem to understand
That the punishment was due to sin
So when God relents Hezekiah also sees that as mercy.

And we see one of the great statements about God’s mercy.

We all love Psalms 103
Psalms 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

• We realize that east and west never touch.
• You can only go north for so long before you have to go south, but you can go east or west and never stop.
• It is a picture of total removal of our sins by God.

We all love Micah 7:
Micah 7:19 “He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea.”

• That is a remarkable statement from Micah because even today there is some question as to how deep the ocean actually is in some places.
• But in Micah’s day they certainly had no idea.

But really just think of it like this.
You’re on a ship in the middle of the ocean
And you drop your pocketknife over the edge…it’s never coming back.

Those are great passages that illustrate the forgiveness of God.

Well Hezekiah, even in this moment, gives another great analogy.

“You have cast all my sins behind Your back.”

It speaks of a conscious decision by God
To no longer consider or look at or focus on my iniquity.

David said:
Psalms 32:1-2 “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!”

• It is a blessing to think that God would cover our sin or conceal or sin or even
cast it behind His back.

The depth and greatness of God’s forgiveness is remarkable.

And just to make sure we have A RIGHT GOSPEL PERSPECTIVE on this.

Romans 3:21-26 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

• Paul there introduces the justification which is found in Christ.
• Namely that God’s righteousness is available by imputation through the redemption of Christ.

And then Paul says that God offered up Christ as a propitiatory sacrifice because “He passed over the sins previously committed”

That is to say that there had been UNPUNISHED SINS committed.
There had been sin that God had not dealt with.
• He passed over it. (Literally at the Passover)

But that’s the sort of thing Hezekiah is talking about.
That God had chosen to just place Hezekiah’s sins behind His back.

What Paul reminds us of is that those sins never went away
Until Christ paid for them and vindicated the righteousness of God.

Hezekiah’s sin could be forgiven because Christ would one day pay for it.

But you see here that Hezekiah does recognize that
The reason God let him live is because God has pardoned his sins.

AND YOU SEE that Hezekiah even understands THE PURPOSE of being granted life by God.

(18-20) “For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness. “It is the living who give thanks to You, as I do today; A father tells his sons about Your faithfulness. “The LORD will surely save me; So we will play my songs on stringed instruments All the days of our life at the house of the LORD.”

Don’t read too much into the statements that make it seem as though
Hezekiah doesn’t believe in heaven or hell or an afterlife at all.

What he is referring to is the absence of worship on earth
Once a person is deceased.
• Those who have died can no longer come to church and join the corporate worship which we enjoy.

But what it also shows us is that Hezekiah understands
The obligations and responsibilities of having life.

Why are you living?
Why has God spared you?
Why do you continue to live on this earth?

Hezekiah knows.
1. FAITH
2. GRATITUDE
3. EVANGELISM / DISCIPLESHIP
4. WORSHIP

“For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You;”

• If I was dead I could not stand here today and give thanks to God.
• If He has allowed me stand here today then I am obligated to do so.

“Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.”

• That is true, one the day you go to be with Christ you will have no more need for faith. In that day faith becomes sight.
• Who hopes for what he already has.

Faith and hope are for those of us on earth to embrace,
Indeed it is our duty and calling to do so.

“It is the living who give thanks to You, as I do today; A father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.”

• We’ve often said that evangelism won’t have any use in heaven.
• In heaven we will know Christ fully so there will be no need for you to tell anyone about Him.

Evangelism and discipleship is an obligation
That falls upon the backs of those alive on this earth.

“The LORD will surely save me; So we will play my songs on stringed instruments All the days of our life at the house of the LORD.”

This life is meant to be a life dedicated to the worship of God.
• We are called to assemble.
• We are called to gather.
• We are called to worship in one accord.

And Hezekiah is committed to it.

That is what he wrote after the LORD healed him and he recovered.

So we stop there for a second and we just take inventory.

WE CLEARLY SAW HEZEKIAH’S PRIDE.
• He was pretty proud of all that he had accomplished and even thought it warranted him healing.
• He was bitter that God would cheat him out of this life early and he even directed that frustration at God.

BUT THEN GOD HEALED HIM AND HEZEKIAH DID RESPOND WELL.
• God healed him and Hezekiah determined to devote his second chance at life to faith and gratitude and evangelism and worship.

So here is our question:
DID HEZEKIAH LEARN HIS LESSON?

IS THE PRIDE NOW GONE?
• He got what he wanted from God.
• He said all the right things.

He talks about worship and evangelism and gratitude.
The only problem is, he was doing those things before he got sick.

• God’s problem with Hezekiah was NEVER his lack of spiritual devotion.
• God’s problem with Hezekiah was NOT idolatry or lack of faith or ingratitude or timidity or refusal to worship.

The problem with Hezekiah is that he had pride in all those things,
Not that he didn’t do them.

SO IS HIS PRIDE GONE?
Has he found humility?

THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE
We are seeking to measure our lives to see if pride exists.

God sent him a trial to humble him…DID IT?

Well, let’s find out.
#2 A TEST TO EXPOSE
Isaiah 39:1-8

Let’s break this point down a little further as well.
1) A CRAFTY TOURIST (1)

(1) “At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered.”

If you wonder why we call this a test, it is because of:
2 Chronicles 32:31 “Even in the matter of the envoys of the rulers of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire of the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone only to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.”

THIS WAS A TEST.
• God had thrown Hezekiah into sickness.
• Hezekiah had asked for healing.
• God had granted it.
• Hezekiah professed a great commitment to God upon being healed.

LET’S SEE HOW GENUINE IT WAS.

And what a test he will face.
This time Hezekiah is not tested with a trial,
This time he is tested with flattery.

Merodach-baladan sends letters and a present to Hezekiah.
• He had heard about his sickness.
• He had heard about his miraculous healing.
• He had heard about the sign God performed to prove it.

Hezekiah has just experienced a great working of God on his behalf.
And now the reporters have come knocking.
THEY COME TO REALLY PUFF UP HEZEKIAH.

“Oh what a great king you must be for look at all that God has done for you.”
“God really just answers your every request.”
“The country looks great.”
“Your health is great.”
“You must be quite the guy!”

Can I remind you again that you must be on guard against flattery?

We know what gossip is.
Gossip is when people say something behind your back that they wouldn’t say to your face.

Someone gossiping about you is painful, but it is not all that dangerous.

Flattery is when someone says something to your face that they wouldn’t say behind your back.

Flattery feels good, but it is so dangerous.

Can I remind you what Solomon said about it?
Ecclesiastes 7:5-6 “It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man Than for one to listen to the song of fools. For as the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool; And this too is futility.”

Solomon said you’re far better off to get a rebuke than a tribute song.
For I can promise you that tribute song won’t last long.

But here Satan has shown up yet again.
It is true than in a short time Satan will come as a beast with Sennacherib.
But first he has come as a harlot with Merodach-baladan.

Danger, Danger, Danger, Danger

2) A CONCEITED TOUR (2)

(2) “Hezekiah was pleased, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and his whole armory and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.”

What revealing words:
“Hezekiah was pleased”

It sure felt good to finally get some notoriety.

Remember how Hezekiah had built all those store houses to hold all the surplus of the offerings that the people were bringing?

What a great king he was!
• He had organized the most successful Passover in the history of Israel and was the architect of one of the most successful giving campaigns ever performed.

His city was humming with faithfulness and effectiveness.
Surely God could see this for God had just healed him.

And so he was more than happy to go and show off
All his plans and works and all that he had accomplished.

“There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.”

NOW BEFORE WE GO TOO FAR IN THIS.
IN FAIRNESS: Isn’t this sort of the same thing that happened with Solomon?

1 Kings 10:1-9 “Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions. So she came to Jerusalem with a very large retinue, with camels carrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from the king which he did not explain to her. When the queen of Sheba perceived all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her. Then she said to the king, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. “Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. “How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. “Blessed be the LORD your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; because the LORD loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.”

The same thing seemed to happen with Solomon.
• Surely Hezekiah is just in good company.
• Surely God is just treating him the same way.

But then we get to the third point.
3) A CAPTURED TREASURE (3-7)

So Isaiah comes to Hezekiah and asks
“Who was that and what did you show them?”

Hezekiah says, “I showed them everything!”
“They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them.”

And to this Isaiah pronounces judgment.

(6-7) “‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the LORD. ‘And some of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away, and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”

Now first of all, lets deal with the elephant in the room.

WHY WAS HEZEKIAH IN TROUBLE FOR THIS?
We just said that Solomon did the same thing.

The Chronicler answers this for us:
2 Chronicles 32:24-25 “In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill; and he prayed to the LORD, and the LORD spoke to him and gave him a sign. But Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.”

And there it is…
“But Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.”

That also answers our question: WAS HIS PRIDE GONE?
And the answer? NO

• Hezekiah’s heart remained proud.
• He saw the mercy of God as something he deserved.

Even though God had healed him…
Even though he could spout good theology…
Even though he knew the duty of the spiritual man…
HIS HEART WAS STILL PROUD.

That same pride that caused the illness in the first place
Was clearly still alive and well.

He viewed himself to be an exceptional king who deserved the mercy of God.

And if you think you deserve mercy
Then you obviously don’t understand mercy.

So here is what we have seen in Hezekiah’s life.

• WHEN HE FACED TRIALS he thought them to be unjust as something he
didn’t deserve.
• WHEN HE FACED HONOR AND FLATTERY he thought it to be something
just that he did deserve.

THAT IS PRIDE.

• IN HIS TRIALS he grew bitter and took his anger to God.
• IN HIS GLORY he grew silent and reserved all the glory for himself.

THAT IS PRIDE.

What is it that causes us to assume that we do not deserve trials?
• Have we forgotten what we are?
• Have we forgotten our sinful state?

What is it that causes us to think that we do deserve glory?
• Have we forgotten our rebellion?
• Are we blind to our continued sinfulness?

PRIDE

As I told you this morning, it can hit even the most reverent heart.
TURN TO: JOB 23

We know that Job was a righteous man, fearing God and turning away from evil,
Just as we know that Hezekiah was a king filled with faith.

While Satan knows he cannot tempt them
With liquor or women or other immoral vices,
Often times such men are prime candidates for pride.

LISTEN TO JOB HERE.
• Did you catch any of that bitterness there?
• Did you catch any of that pride there?
• (3) “Oh that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat!”

• Later he says that God’s presence would surely terrify him, but (17) “I am not
silenced by the darkness”

I know it would be scary, but bring it on.

Of course one should turn to Job 38 and see God answer his pride.
It led Job to deep humility and repentance.

But do you see how even our religious piety can be used as a point of temptation?

“Let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall”

Suffering is a quick way to reveal if pride is in your life.
BUT SO IS GLORY AND HONOR AND FLATTERY.

How you respond to victory
Is just as important as how you respond to defeat.

Do we remember these illustrations?

Daniel 4:30-33 “The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ “While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’ “Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.”

Acts 12:21-23 “On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. The people kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.”

Numbers 20:8-13 “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.” So Moses took the rod from before the LORD, just as He had commanded him; and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” Those were the waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel contended with the LORD, and He proved Himself holy among them.”

IT WAS THE SAME PROBLEM OF HEZEKIAH.

Pride was revealed in his bitterness in adversity
Pride was revealed in his failure to glorify God in his exaltation.

And that pride is further solidified in what we see next.

4) A CURIOUS THOUGHT (8)

“Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.”

Some people read that and say, he’s just saying, “May God’s will be done”.

I DON’T THINK THAT’S IT.
And I don’t think it’s that hard to understand.

He was just told that all his treasure and even his grandsons would be carried off into exile but it did not bother him.

WHY?
“For he thought, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.”

“They may suffer, but at least I’ll get the peace and truth I deserve.”

What else can we call that but arrogance or pride?
What else can we call that but self-love?

AND AGAIN WE SEE THE DANGERS OF PRIDE.
• Even among those who seek and strive to live godly lives.
• Even among the “best of the best” pride is still a temptation.

Now FIRST, we know that Hezekiah’s assessment is false.
• In a very short time he is about to fight the battle of his life when Rabshekah shows up outside the gate.

And we know that there God will humble Hezekiah.
• We know that there Hezekiah will repent and trust God correctly.
• We know that there Hezekiah will end well.

But here he demonstrates terrible pride
And it brings about a promise from God
That his pride will lead to the downfall of Judah.

AND LET’S EXAMINE THIS FOR A MOMENT.

SO YOU’RE TELLING ME THAT
• In spite of all the good that Hezekiah did,
• This one act of pride caused God to be so angry
• That He determined to send all of Judah into Babylon because of it?

THAT SEEMS HARSH.

Can I tell you how it happened?

Do you know who the next king of Judah will be?
• He will be the most wicked King to ever sit on the throne.
• His name is Manasseh.

TURN TO: 2 KINGS 21:1-16
• He will be an idol worshiper.
• He will pass his sons through the fire.
• He will rebuild the high places.

And you really wonder, how could that happen?
How in the world could a son of Hezekiah turn out so bad?

2 Chronicles 33:10-13 “The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. Therefore the LORD brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze chains and took him to Babylon. When he was in distress, he entreated the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.”

What was the root sin of Manasseh?
PRIDE

I TOLD YOU THIS MORNING that pride is dangerous because God is opposed to it.

I ALSO TOLD YOU that pride is dangerous because it can go so easily undetected as we cover it with religious zeal.

But let me tell you a third danger of pride:
IT IS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS

And the tragedy is that
The only thing that Manasseh seemed to inherit from his father
Was the pride he exhibited in his sin.

MANASSEH’S PRIDE
Would lead the nation of Judah past a point of no return.

IN FACT,
• Manasseh would die and eventually his grandson Josiah would take the throne.
• Josiah was another great king.
• He would lead the Josianic revival in Jerusalem and do all that he could to turn the nation back to God.

But let me show you what God said in response to Josiah’s revival:

2 Kings 23:25-26 “Before him there was no king like him who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him. However, the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him.”

Manasseh committed sins
From which God would not forgive Judah.
And the strange reality is that
The pride of Manasseh was first seen in his father.

It is a dangerous thing to walk in pride.
• And even though Hezekiah would repent, and save the city from Assyria,
• And earn a great commendation in the book of the Kings for his great faith,
• Hezekiah’s pride would eventually be the downfall of the nation.

I don’t know any way to express
The dangers of pride more than this story.
IT WILL WRECK YOU.

And this is the story that Isaiah uses
To catapult us into the second half of his book.

The rest of this book, while it will address the Babylonian invasion,
Is, more than anything, and appeal
For Israel to humble themselves and trust in God.

Pride is a dangerous thing.

May we all ask God to forgive us for our pride.
May we all ask God to cleanse us of our pride.
May we all ask God to graciously stop our pride from affecting those around us.

download here

The Pride of Hezekiah – Part 1
Isaiah 38:1–39:8 (38:1-16)
January 21, 2024

You know that we are now in that middle section of Isaiah.
• The first 35 chapters of Isaiah looked backward primarily dealing with the issue of Assyria.
• Chapters 40-66 look forward to the reality of the Babylonian captivity.

In the middle we have 4 chapters that contain two narrative stories.
Both of them examine events in the life of Hezekiah.

As we have said, they are out of order chronologically,
That is because Isaiah is using them as a bridge between halves.

When we look back at the Assyrian invasion
• We saw that it was faith in God that led God to turn the Assyrians away and deliver his people.
• Hezekiah was the leader in that.
• It was his faith that prompted God to save the nation.

But when we look forward to the coming Babylonian invasion
• We will learn that pride is what will lead God to hand Judah over to the Babylonians.
• And while there are certainly more sinners than just Hezekiah to blame for the exile, his pride is the root that starts it all.

So we saw the first narrative story and saw the great faith of Hezekiah.
(I do want to make sure you understand that he ended there)

THIS MORNING let’s look at the second narrative
And see the pride he exhibited which is the very type of attitude
That caused God to bring Babylon upon them.

As we look at this, let me go ahead and label the two chapters for you.

Chapter 38 we’ll call: A TRIAL TO HUMBLE
• You’ll see God confront and seek to correct the pride that has been building in Hezekiah’s heart.

Chapter 39 we’ll call: A TEST TO EXPOSE
• After Hezekiah makes a verbal confession regarding his pride we’ll see God send a test to see if his confession is true.

I think if you understand that,
It will make the story in these two chapters become more clear to you.

So let’s just begin what that first point.
#1 A TRIAL TO HUMBLE
Isaiah 38:1-22

Obviously we’re going to break this point down a little more.
Let me give you 5 subheadings to help us walk through this chapter.

1) THE REVELATION (1)

(1) “In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’”

First, we begin with the obvious.
“Hezekiah became mortally ill”
• You’ll find out later that whatever was wrong with him, it produced a boil.
• I’m sure he felt terrible, and I’m sure he sought out advice and perhaps even treatment.

But one day, it was ISAIAH who knocked on his door
And gave him SOME BAD NEWS.

“Thus says the LORD, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’”

God tells Hezekiah that he is about to die.

That should be a pretty sobering warning.
And at this point we should just clearly note that
GOD IS GETTING HEZEKIAH’S ATTENTION.

That is the revelation
2) THE RESUME (2-3)

“Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, and said, “Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.”

I know that at first the term “resume” may not seem correct.
• Shouldn’t this be his prayer?
• Shouldn’t this be his humble supplication?

Perhaps, except that it is very difficult to read what Hezekiah says
And come away in awe of his amazing humility.

• Hezekiah is blindsided by the news that he’s about to die.
• And he is correct in appealing to God for help,
• But his appeal leaves a little to be desired.

The entire basis for why he believes God should restore his life is recounted specifically by him.

• “how I have walked before You in truth”
• “how I have walked before You…with a whole heart”
• “how I have…done what is good in Your sight”

Now first of all, we must acknowledge that there is some real truth to that.

• Certainly if we were to measure Hezekiah according to Christ we’d see that like
all of us he has “fallen short of the glory of God.”
• Surely he hasn’t been perfect, but I don’t think that’s what Hezekiah is
claiming.
• I don’t think he’s saying he has been sinless.

But he is pointing out that his life has been devoted to the things of God.

And look, the book of 2 Chronicles agrees with him.
We won’t go hash back through all of it again, but perhaps I can give you again the highlights of his life:

We said he was:
1. A Reforming King
2. A Gospel Evangelist
3. A Faithful Intercessor
4. An Encouraging Shepherd
5. A Devoted Worshiper

Do you remember how he restored the temple, and restored the priestly order, and how they had the biggest Passover Jerusalem had had since the times of the Judges?

Do you remember how he interceded for the people when God was making them sick, or how he encouraged the priests who were embarrassed that the Passover wasn’t done perfectly?

Do you remember how much of his own private means he dedicated to the LORD for the ongoing worship of the temple?

We studied all of that, he WAS devoted to God.

2 Kings 18:3 “He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done.”

2 Kings 18:5-6 “He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. For he clung to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses.”

2 Chronicles 31:20-21 “Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah; and he did what was good, right and true before the LORD his God. Every work which he began in the service of the house of God in law and in commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered.”

We are not, in any way, questioning the accuracy of Hezekiah’s statement.
• He did walk in truth.
• He did serve with a whole heart.
• He did do what was right in God’s sight.

We aren’t questioning his actions at all.

NOR are we suggesting that God has somehow overlooked all of that.
Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.”

We genuinely believe that Hezekiah did those things
And that God took note of all the things he did.

SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

The problem is not the accuracy of what Hezekiah’s resume,
It’s the incompleteness of his resume.

Hezekiah tells the story of his life without any acknowledgement
That perhaps God was working through him.

2 Chronicles 30:12 “The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the LORD.”

And the simple point to be made is that
The success Hezekiah enjoyed
Was not the result of the devotion of Hezekiah.

There have been plenty of devoted servants of God who have experienced “zero” measurable success in their ministry.

• Would anyone accuse Jeremiah of not being devoted?
• Would anyone say that Ezekiel lacked commitment?
• Was Isaiah half-hearted?

We don’t deny that Hezekiah was devoted,
But it is a little strange to see that
He has difficulty recognizing the grace of God in his life.

Even the good Hezekiah accomplished
Was only because of God’s hand to cause it to occur.

It brings to mind Paul’s question to the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 4:7 “For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”

Paul reminded the Corinthians that every success they had achieved
Was only because of the grace of God.

Paul certainly understood that.
Romans 15:17-19 “Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”

And yet such a perspective seems to be lacking from Hezekiah.

You could even look at his grief and bitterness in receiving this bad news.
• Him turning his face to the wall.
• Him weeping bitterly.

That can lend almost to being a pity-party
And that is a prideful thing as well.

You can again see the difference between his response and responses like PAUL’S:

Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Romans 14:7-8 “For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”

Or any other of the saints of old
Who faced death with faith and boldness to the glory of God.

I’m not saying that any of us might have done better than him here,
But I am pointing out that his attitude
Doesn’t do much for the glory of God.

It speaks more to
• His pride,
• His accomplishment,
• His feelings of being treated unjustly
Than it does to a man who recognizes the grace of God upon his life.

When faced with a piece of bad news
He does not appeal to God’s mercy,
He appeals to his own resume.

The Revelation, The Resume
3) THE RESPONSE (4-6)

“Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. “I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.”

Let’s PAUSE here and seek out a little CLARIFICATION.

There have been plenty who have expressed confusion
Regarding this response from God.

Not so much that God healed him,
But because just a moment ago God emphatically stated
That He was about to die.

And it has sparked a number of questions from people.
Did Hezekiah’s prayer change the mind of God?

And look, that is sort of a cheap and easy way to approach this story,
But it brings with it A LOT OF BAGGAGE.

You could just chalk this story up to the “power of prayer”
And point out that prayer changes things.

But this has been the very start of the heresy known as “Open Theism”.
It gets defined in various ways, but it is basically the belief that seeks to reconcile the love of God and the supposed “free will” of man.

It basically states that the future is “open”.
• It will depend on man’s decisions and God’s responses to those decisions.
• Nothing is set, it’s just God and men sort of reacting to one another as the
future unfolds.

Namely that God is just sort of watching the drama unfold, He doesn’t really know how it all ends, He’s just sort of winging it and things like our prayer have drastic influence on the direction everything heads.

People who hold to Open Theism love stories like this,
• Or like the one where God tells Moses He’s doing to kill the Israelites but Moses prays and God changes His mind.

I hope I don’t have to sell you on the error of Open Theism.
The very fact that it totally STRIPS God of His sovereignty is bad enough,
But it also SUPPLANTS God’s sovereignty with man’s or even Satan’s.

How can we look forward to any promise of God if everything God says is up for debate and His mind can be changed about it?

You see the problem, but don’t fear, Open Theism NOT TRUE

Isaiah 40:7-8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

Isaiah 43:13 “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”

You get the idea.
But that is why it is problematic to just see Hezekiah pray and God change direction.

BUT STILL THE QUESTION LINGERS.
WHAT HAPPENED HERE?

• God told Hezekiah he was about to die.
• Isaiah presented it with a “Thus says the LORD” and then it didn’t happen.

WHAT IS HAPPENING?

WELL FIRST, MIGHT WE POINT OUT THAT
People die all the time without being warned by God that it is coming.
• In fact, this is the way that 99.9% of the people of all time have died.
• They knew they would die sometime, but very few were ever told by God that there time is now and they are about to die.

So God sending a specific warning like this ahead of time
Is definitely not the norm.
COULD THERE BE A PURPOSE IN IT?

Let us consider a couple of times when God has intervened and told men they were about to die.

Genesis 20:1-3 “Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar. Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.”

• People typically blame Abraham here, but I would remind you that God never rebukes Abraham in this chapter.
• The sole rebuke of God is for Abimelech who we learn later has no fear of God.
• So God tells Abimelech here “you are a dead man”.

However, if you continue reading you find that like Hezekiah,
God did not follow through. Abimelech repents and God spares his life.

Or this one:
Jonah 3:4 “Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”

• There again was a message from God to a people and it was that in 40 days they would all be dead.
• And yet again, we read the story and find that Nineveh repented and God did not do it.

But hopefully you are beginning to SEE A PATTERN EMERGING
When God warns a person that their death is coming.

It doesn’t appear to be a resolute sovereign decree of God,
But rather God does this as a warning to someone in their sin
That things need to change or else.

After all, if God desired their death, why warn them?
If there is no chance of changing His mind, why tell them?

God is seen in Scripture as One who warns of coming doom that man might repent of his sin and be spared.

Ezekiel 33:13-16 “When I say to the righteous he will surely live, and he so trusts in his righteousness that he commits iniquity, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but in that same iniquity of his which he has committed he will die. “But when I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and he turns from his sin and practices justice and righteousness, if a wicked man restores a pledge, pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the statutes which ensure life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. “None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall surely live.”

• That is what we saw with Abimelech
• That is what we saw with Nineveh
• That is even what we saw with Moses when he interceded

And it is best to understand that this is what we are seeing here.
God was threatening Hezekiah with death to lead to his repentance.

And I think, after seeing his prayer, we can confidently say that
We know what sin God was confronting: PRIDE.

BUT HERE WE HAVE GOD’S ANSWER to Hezekiah’s prayer.

God tells him, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.”

2 Kings adds the statement, “I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD” (2 Kings 20:5)

And God also promises to deliver him
And the city from the coming assault from Assyria.

So now we see that God, though He warned of death, has responded with mercy.
• He gave mercy to the children of Israel upon Moses’ prayer.
• He gave mercy to Abimelech when Abraham prayed for him.
• He gave mercy to Nineveh when they humbled themselves in repentance.
• And He gives mercy to Hezekiah here.

But with that acknowledgment, don’t buy into backward thinking.

That is to say, DON’T walk away with the assumption
That Hezekiah was right and he did deserve to be healed.

• That would be God operating in justice, not mercy.
• That would also come with the assumption that God had wrongly inflicted
Hezekiah with the sickness.
• That would assume that God, having now been corrected by Hezekiah, was
repenting and removing the sickness.

No, that’s not what is happening.
• God is merely showing mercy here.
• God is not treating Hezekiah as he deserves.

AND GOD HAS THE RIGHT TO BE MERCIFUL TO MEN.

Hezekiah is not going to die.

But then something bizarre happens,
Which causes us to question just how much Hezekiah actually learned from this trial.

In Isaiah the verse is pushed down to verses 21-22
(21-22) “Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” Then Hezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?”

When you read the narrative in 2 Kings
Those verses occur immediately following verse 6.

It becomes apparent to us that Hezekiah was here
Having a little difficulty actually believing that God would heal him.

• He had no problem believing the death part, after all, he could see the boil.
• But when God promised life, Hezekiah is a little doubtful.
• So Hezekiah asked for a sign.

Well, God here is more than just merciful, He is also gracious.
We learn in the N.T. that there is wickedness in seeking for a sign,
But God grants it anyway.

The Revelation, The Resume, The Response
4) THE REASSURANCE (7-8)

“This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that He has spoken: “Behold, I will cause the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, to go back ten steps.” So the sun’s shadow went back ten steps on the stairway on which it had gone down.”

Also in the Kings narrative you find that
• Isaiah asks Hezekiah if he wanted the sun to move up or down ten steps
• Hezekiah basically says moving down is nothing, make it move up.

And so that is what God does.
He graciously gives Hezekiah a sign
That He will certainly heal him just as He promised.

So now, not only are we questioning Hezekiah’s pride,
But we also have a slight question about where his faith is at the present.

Again, WE’RE NOT questioning the testimony of his life here.
• We know even how he will end up, trusting God in a mighty way.
• We know that he is remembered as a King with great faith.

But here we are in this one trial and we have a difficult time seeing
That his faith is really strong at this point.

But none-the-less you are aware of the scene.
• He got sick
• God told him he would die
• He cried out to God
• God promised to heal him
• God confirmed it with a miraculous sign

And everything we have just said about his attitude and pride and struggling faith is at best JUST OUR ASSESSMENT.

Where it not for what we have next.
Verses 10-20 are NOT included in the book of 2 Kings.

It is a writing from Hezekiah where he explains exactly what was going on in his heart throughout the sickness and the healing he experienced.

5) THE RETELLING (9-20)

Let’s just be as honest as we can about what Hezekiah has to say here.
This writing occurred “after his illness and recovery:”

So the trial is behind him.
He’s just sharing testimony of what was going on in his heart at the time.

Let’s start with: (10-12) “I said, “In the middle of my life I am to enter the gates of Sheol; I am to be deprived of the rest of my years.” I said, “I will not see the LORD, The LORD in the land of the living; I will look on man no more among the inhabitants of the world. “Like a shepherd’s tent my dwelling is pulled up and removed from me; As a weaver I rolled up my life. He cuts me off from the loom; From day until night You make an end of me.”

Now let’s be honest in what we read.
You see words like
“deprived” or “pulled up” or “removed” or “rolled up” or “cuts me off”.

You see that Hezekiah assesses that this has been done to him
“in the middle of my life”

WHAT IS HE SAYING THERE?
That when God gave me the announcement that I was about to die, the first thought that occurred to me is that, “I’m too young for this.”

THIS ISN’T FAIR.
God is just plucking me out right in my prime.

If you couple that with the prayer he offered up in verse 3 you understand that there is a certain, “I don’t deserve this” mentality occurring here.

• He laments that he’s not going to see God at work anymore.
• He laments that he’s not going to see the deeds of men anymore.

He then just sort of throws up his hands to the unjustness of it all.

(12) “Like a shepherd’s tent my dwelling is pulled up and removed from me; As a weaver I rolled up my life. He cuts me off from the loom; From day until night You make an end of me.”

It’s the equivalent of saying, “He’s treating me like an old ratty T-shirt that is just picked up off the floor and tossed in the trash.”

You see the pride here.
He feels as though God is treating him unjustly.

(13) “I composed my soul until morning. Like a lion—so He breaks all my bones, From day until night You make an end of me.”

Here you find that he tried to “pull it all together”
“I composed my soul”
• I tried to make peace with it.
• I tried to get over it.
• I tried to come to terms.

But every time I did, it’s like God just hammered me again.
His warning to “get your house in order” just sort of haunted me.

“Like a lion – so He breaks all my bones”

And again that same statement:
“From day until night You make an end of me.”

God, You’re killing me!

He’s suffering
It feels unjust
And God is to blame

(14) “Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter; I moan like a dove; My eyes look wistfully to the heights; O Lord, I am oppressed, be my security.”

There he describes his sobbing.
• He says that he sounds like a twittering crane or a moaning dove.

“wistfully” means “a feeling of vague regretful longing”
The Hebrew word behind it means “to be brought low.”

He’s just telling the Lord that I have bottomed out.
I have sunk deep in despair.

In that frustration he cries out, “O Lord, I am oppressed, be my security.”

This isn’t so much a prayer of faith
As it is a complaint that God needs to rise up and do something.

Enough is enough!
Can’t You see!

“be my security”
• Be my guarantee
• Be my pledge
• Be my surety

Do you see now how Hezekiah has a feeling of entitlement here?
• God, You see all that I have done.
• You see how I have served You.
• Don’t You think it’s time to rise up and defend me here?
• (15) “What shall I say?”

AND THEN A STRONG LAMENT
“For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it; I will wander about all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.”

It is God who has afflicted me with this promise of death.
And I’m going to be bitter about this until it happens.

Listen, that’s nothing but pride.

(16) “O Lord, by these things men live, And in all these is the life of my spirit; O restore me to health and let me live!”

Translators will tell you that this is a difficult verse to translate.
It’s hard to grasp exactly what he is saying here.

Most take it to mean something like this:
“O Lord, other men lengthen their life, but I am stuck with this bitter lot.”
Maybe it is, maybe not.

But then he cries out, “O restore me to health and let me live!”

Now we have no difficulty looking back at that prayer in verse 2
And understanding the pride that accompanied it.

Again, we’re NOT SAYING that we are better than him,
But pride is pride no matter where it dwells.

We actually saw the same types of things in the life of Job
• Who was also a righteous man,
• But his bitterness and pride caused him to be greatly humbled before God and
brought low.

This is actually one of the things that gives us
Great confidence that the Scriptures are the word of God.

The Bible does not hide men’s warts.
• If men were writing it there would be great temptation to omit the embarrassing parts,
• But this is God’s word and He includes the less than flattering stories.

Hezekiah started well and Hezekiah will end well,
BUT THIS IS A LOW POINT IN HIS LIFE.

He is a proud man and God has brought that pride to the forefront
With this boil and promise of death.

Hezekiah feels as though God is cheating him and treating him unjustly.

verse 17a, “Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness;”

We’re running out of time so we’re going to pause here for a moment.

You will see that after that statement God clearly intervened.
• It was there that God determined to heal Hezekiah and He did so.
• And the rest of this statement speaks of God’s goodness and mercy to save
• And we’ll talk about that tonight.

But this morning we just need to make some honest assessments.

PRIDE IS DANGEROUS

Certainly the MOST TERRIFYING aspect of pride is this:
James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

• The fact that God is opposed to pride should be enough to cause us to desire it to be rooted out.

We think of that Pharisee in the temple,
• Who like Hezekiah, delighted in giving his resume to God.
• “I fast twice a week, I pay tithes of all that I get”
• But God said about that man that he was not justified when he went away.

So we know the danger of pride.
It condemns men and it attracts the discipline of God.

But in Hezekiah we also learn that pride
Can very easily grow undetected in even a devout life.

Hezekiah was a faithful man.
Hezekiah was a devout man.
And even in his life this seed of pride has germinated and begun to grow.

Sennacherib’s taunt and Sennacherib’s letter
Were not the only Satanic attacks Hezekiah faced.
• Here Hezekiah is dealing with Satan’s influence.
• Hezekiah has begun to read his own press clippings.
• Hezekiah is pretty proud of all that he has accomplished.
• Hezekiah has started thinking on what he deserves from God.

That’s why he was so upset when God told him he would die.
His pride was offended and bitterness reared its ugly head.

And we think about the warning of Paul:
1 Corinthians 10:12-13 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

We recognize that “let him who thinks he stands” part.

In those times when you think you’ve done the best, Satan is more than willing to push you right into that arena of prideful thinking.

And it shows up when you face a trial
And feel as though you don’t deserve it.

Do you want to know the proper response to trials?
James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Do you see the difference?
• A TRIAL COMES and a prideful man grows bitter and complains that God has cheated him.
• A TRIAL COMES and a humble man rejoices that God has seen fit to correct what is still broken in him.

How do you face trials?
How do you face adversity?

• Do you realize that God may be bringing them in your life for the purpose of crushing your pride?
• And when He does that, do you readily receive it, or grow bitter and fight it?

Hezekiah is a good man, but even good men are susceptible to pride.

John Calvin wrote about this story:
“And if a king so eminent in piety needed almost to suffer anguish, that he might be more powerfully excited to seek the favour of God, and, being almost wasted by grief, might groan from hell to God; let us not wonder if he sometimes permits us for a time to be agitated by fears and perplexities, and delays longer to bestow consolation in answer to our prayers.”
(Calvin, John [Calvin’s Commentaries Volume VIII; Baker Books; Grand Rapids, MI; 2005] Pg. 157)

THIS MORNING MAY OUR PRAYER BE
That God would examine our hearts and cleanse us from pride.

Even if bitterness were the only thing Hezekiah experienced as a result of his pride that would be enough to want it gone.

BUT AS WE’LL SEE TONIGHT, his pride was going to bring far more trouble than just his own personal bitterness.

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God’s Response To Genuine Faith
Isaiah 37:21-38
January 14, 2024

Tonight I want to pick back up with the quote we ended with
From Raymond Ortlund as we looked at Hezekiah’s faith.

“Sometimes Christians live a creedal faith rather than a daring faith. And Isaiah is talking bout an audacious faith that the world cannot understand. A creedal faith says, “I believe in God the Father Almighty” and so forth. That’s good. What if we didn’t believe that? We’d really be in trouble. But a creedal faith is a beginning point only. After all, if people who do not believe in God the Father Almighty often live like people who do believe in God the Father Almighty, then living by faith must be more profound than a creed. God is calling us to live by a daring faith because the world is daring us to live by faith in God.”
(Ortlund, Raymond [Preaching The Word Commentary: Isaiah, God Saves Sinners; Crossway; Wheaton, IL, 2005] pg. 206)

He spoke of believers whose faith is only creedal and not daring.

That is to say, their lives are filled with the right theology.
• They know the correct gospel.
• They recite the correct gospel.
• They preach the truth.
• They defend the truth.

But here is the dilemma that Ortlund proposed that struck me.

Ortlund pointed out that in our world often times
The only distinguishing mark between the way believers live
Versus how nonbelievers live IS OUR CREED, NOT OUR FAITH.

That is to say.
• If our creeds were not made manifest.
• If you didn’t know what anyone believed.
• If everyone’s theological beliefs were sealed away and no one knew them.

• If all you had to be able to evaluate a person was their decisions.
• If all you had to evaluate people was how they responded to adversity.
• If all you had to evaluate people was how they handle tragedy or danger.

Would you be able to tell
Who was a believer and who wasn’t in our culture?

Can you not see the problem that often times in our world believers and nonbelievers live such similar lives that it’s really difficult to see the difference?

Now certainly I’m NOT talking about the morality issue.

But we all know unbelievers who live moral lives.
• We all know unbelievers who don’t get divorced, don’t cuss, don’t lie, or cheat.
• They don’t believe in Jesus Christ, but they still live moral.

The mark of their unbelief
Is seen in their dependance on man for deliverance.
• They trust in their own hard work.
• They trust in their government.
• They trust in their doctor.
• They trust in their job.

And Ortlund’s point is that
We have believers who only ever do the same thing.

• Their creed is correct.
• Their theological dissertation is accurate,
• But the world never sees any kind of radical faith out of them at all.

That leaves the world wondering what is so different?

Ortlund said, “God is calling us to live by a daring faith because the world is daring us to live by faith in God.”

To not just say what we believe about God but to actually believe God.

R.C. Sproul used to say that “it is not a profession of faith that saves, but the possession of faith that saves.”

And the reason Isaiah is showing us the life of Hezekiah
Is because he wants you to see the difference.

Isaiah, by his own confession, was “a man of unclean lips”
And he confessed to live “among a people of unclean lips.”

That is to say
• “We are creedal people.”
• “We are a confessional people”.
• “But we are hypocritical”.

Remember his indictment?
Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”

We certainly remember the sermon of chapter 1
• Which addressed all their sacrifices and festivals and faithfulness to pray to
God, but it was all empty.
• They professed faith, but they did not possess it.

And of course their poster child of an example was wicked king Ahaz
• Whom God called to trust Him,
• Even offering him a sign,
• And Ahaz said no.

This was the problem of Isaiah’s day.
It was a creedal faith, but it was not a daring one.

In response to such a fickle faith
God raised up Assyria and commissioned them against Israel and Judah.

• Israel refused to ever trust God and they were defeated and exiled.
• Judah certainly would have suffered the same fate, were it not for one man.

HEZEKIAH TRUSTED GOD.
And the faith of that one man saved the city and the nation.

Hezekiah possessed a faith that God responded to.
• His faith certainly may have been creedal.
• But his faith was also daring.

When Sennacherib sent that letter back
Telling Hezekiah not to let God deceive him,
Hezekiah never panicked and he never approached anyone else.

Hezekiah took that letter directly to God and to God alone.

And Hezekiah prayed.
(15-20) “O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. “Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. “Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. “Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, LORD, are God.”

We asked what did Hezekiah believe?
• He believed that God is our God
• He believed that God is sovereign
• He believed that God is living
• He believed that God is jealous

And we know he believed that, not because of what he said,
But because of what he did.

HEZEKIAH TRUSTED GOD.

Tonight we get to see GOD’S RESPONSE.

Certainly Isaiah is screaming at us through this story
About THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUSTING GOD.

There are three main things I want you to see from the text tonight.
#1 THE STATEMENT
Isaiah 37:21-29

And what we have here is the spoken response of God to Hezekiah
In regard to the threat that Hezekiah passed along to Him.

(21) “Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria,”

That alone is somewhat fascinating.
• Hezekiah didn’t tell Isaiah about it.
• The only person he consulted with was God.
• And yet here we have Isaiah sent with a message.

This is a tremendous proof
That God both hears and answers prayer.

God responded “Because you have prayed to Me”

God didn’t respond necessarily because of what you prayed,
But because you prayed.
God was responding to Hezekiah’s faith.

People often refer to “The Power of Prayer” (and that is not wrong)
But please know that is not as open as it sounds by that statement.

• A prayer offered to Allah has no power.
• A prayer offered to a tree has no power.

Beyond that Jesus told us that in our praying, it’s not our eloquence or repetition that makes prayer powerful.
Matthew 6:7-8 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

Obviously what makes prayer powerful is
The God to whom we pray and the faith He responds to.

We think of that man who persisted at night asking his friend to borrow a loaf of bread.
Or that Canaanite woman who wouldn’t quit asking Jesus to heal her daughter.
Or this woman:
Luke 18:1-8 “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’ ” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

Clearly the point there is NOT the eloquence of the woman.
It is the faith of the woman as evidenced by her persistence.

Jesus says if you take that kind of faith and then offer it to a God who is actually good and powerful, anything is possible.

The problem is
• Will we find that kind of faith on the earth?
• Will we find a daring, persistent, actual faith?
• Or will it be a faith that stops in creed only?

God doesn’t say that He answered Hezekiah
Because of his moving argument, or his emotional brokenness.

God answers simply “Because you have prayed to Me”

Hezekiah took the problem to God and God responded to his faith.
It wasn’t about what he said, it was that he said it to God.

God has been moved by the faith of Hezekiah.

God has a message for the king of Assyria.
(We don’t know if the Assyrian king ever heard it, it was given for Hezekiah’s sake)

But God’s message to Sennacherib is three-fold.
(incidentally, watch God respond specifically to the faith of Hezekiah)
1) YOU ARE A FOOL (22-23)

God starts out by pointing out how Assyria
Has belittled and maligned Jerusalem.

(22)” this is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: “She has despised you and mocked you, The virgin daughter of Zion; She has shaken her head behind you, The daughter of Jerusalem!”

They called them weak, powerless, and destined for captivity.

But what Assyria was too foolish to realize
Is that an attack on God’s people is an attack on God Himself.

Zechariah 2:8 “For thus says the LORD of hosts, “After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.”

Remember when Jesus confronted Saul on the Damascus road?
Acts 9:3-5 “As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,”

An attack on God’s people is an attack on God.
And this is what Assyria was doing.

DO YOU REMEMBER that when Hezekiah prayed Hezekiah referenced his believe that GOD IS OUR GOD?
• It is a big mistake to go attacking the bride of Christ.
• It is a big mistake to go attacking God’s adopted children.

BUT Sennacherib didn’t just attack God by association.

Sennacherib actually attacked God specifically.
• Sennacherib called God a liar.
• He told Hezekiah that God would deceive him.
• Sennacherib called God weak.
• He told Hezekiah that He would not be able to deliver.

And when Hezekiah prayed
He was also very specific about THE JEALOUSY OF GOD.
• God doesn’t share His glory.
• He certainly doesn’t allow pagan peons to mock it.

Look at how God answers:
(23) “Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? And against whom have you raised your voice And haughtily lifted up your eyes? Against the Holy One of Israel!”

You have no idea who you are messing with.

(Sennacherib repeatedly called Hezekiah a fool)
But it was Sennacherib who was reckless and foolish.

You are a fool
2) YOU ARE A FRAUD (24-27)

When you read verses 24 and 25 you see the arrogance of Assyria.
He was swelling with pride and confidence.

He knew how powerful he was, and that no one could stand in his way.
Notice how many times the word “my” or “I” is used.

He was confident in his own strength.

Rabshekah asked:
Isaiah 36:18-20 “Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they delivered Samaria from my hand? ‘Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their land from my hand, that the LORD would deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’”

It is clear that the king of Assyria saw himself as omnipotent.

Isaiah 10:12-14 “So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness.” For he has said, “By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, For I have understanding; And I removed the boundaries of the peoples And plundered their treasures, And like a mighty man I brought down their inhabitants, And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest, And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth; And there was not one that flapped its wing or opened its beak or chirped.”

Sennacherib really thought he was somebody special.
But God reveals that he is a fraud.

(26-27) ““Have you not heard? Long ago I did it, From ancient times I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, That you should turn fortified cities into ruinous heaps. “Therefore their inhabitants were short of strength, They were dismayed and put to shame; They were as the vegetation of the field and as the green herb, As grass on the housetops is scorched before it is grown up.”

The only reason you gained victories is because I allowed you to.

We know why Assyria has been allowed to have victory.
• God has been using her to punish the sins of Israel and Judah.
• God purposed this.
• God planned this.
• God allowed this.

Remember Hezekiah praying that: GOD IS SOVEREIGN
If Sennacherib had realized that he would have understood why he was so successful in battle.

“Therefore their inhabitants were short of strength, they were dismayed and put to shame.”

God is the one that made it where Assyria could win.
Their strength was not from themselves.

The point is that Assyria was a fraud.
They didn’t do this, God did it.

Isaiah 10:15 “Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? That would be like a club wielding those who lift it, Or like a rod lifting him who is not wood.”

You are a fool You are a fraud
3) YOU ARE FINISHED (28-29)

Remember that Hezekiah also believed that: GOD IS LIVING

And you see that reference here.
• “I know”
• “your arrogance has come up to My ears”

Sennacherib wasn’t taunting a lifeless stone carving
That could not respond.
He had picked a fight with the living God.

God lets him know that his victorious days are over.

(29b) “I will put My hook in your nose, and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came.”

There is no doubt that God is angry,
And He is about to take out His anger on this arrogant Assyrian.

Isaiah had already told us this:
Isaiah 30:27-28, 31-33 “Behold, the name of the LORD comes from a remote place; Burning is His anger and dense is His smoke; His lips are filled with indignation And His tongue is like a consuming fire; His breath is like an overflowing torrent, Which reaches to the neck, To shake the nations back and forth in a sieve, And to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which leads to ruin…For at the voice of the LORD Assyria will be terrified, When He strikes with the rod. And every blow of the rod of punishment, Which the LORD will lay on him, Will be with the music of tambourines and lyres; And in battles, brandishing weapons, He will fight them. For Topheth has long been ready, Indeed, it has been prepared for the king. He has made it deep and large, A pyre of fire with plenty of wood; The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of brimstone, sets it afire.”

God has seen enough…
God has heard enough…
God has decided that his siege is over.

And there you have the statement from God.
• Hezekiah believed He is OUR GOD and God defended His people.
• Hezekiah believed He was a JEALOUS GOD and He rose up to defend His
glory.
• Hezekiah believed He is the SOVEREIGN GOD and God revealed that
sovereignty.
• Hezekiah believed Him to be the LIVING GOD and God said, “I’ve seen
enough.”

God looked directly at the mocker of Assyria and declared to him:
You are a Fool
You are a Fraud
You are Finished

GOD RESPONDED DIRECTLY TO THE FAITH OF HEZEKIAH.

That is the Statement
#2 THE SIGN
Isaiah 37:30-35

God just made a promise that Assyria was leaving.
Now God determines to pass out a little confirmation to Hezekiah.

God promises to give him a sign.

YOU MAY REMEMBER
That Hezekiah’s father refused to trust God or any sign He would give.

Isaiah 7:10-13 “Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, “Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!” Then he said, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?”

• Syria was attacking Ahaz and God promised to deliver,
• Even saying ask for a sign so that you will know that I will do it.

Ahaz refused to trust God even upon a sign, instead running to Assyria.

But Hezekiah is not like his Father.
Hezekiah trusts God.

And here God offers Hezekiah a sign.
(VERSES 30-32)

Now I hope you recognized what type of sign this was.
It is one of God’s favorites to give.
IT IS A SIGN OF CONFIRMATION

(30b) “you will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what springs from the same, and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.”

You and I know that isn’t much of a sign.
(At least not an immediate one)

BUT HOW SWEET THE WORSHIP WOULD BE IN THAT THIRD YEAR WHEN YOU ARE EATING THE FRUIT OF YOUR VINEYARD.

God is not a God of proof, but a God of confirmation.

When Moses needed a sign from God to prove that God would indeed deliver from Egypt, God said:

Exodus 3:12 “And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

And that is the same type of sign here.

To a man walking by sight, it is of no help at all,
But to a man walking by faith
It is the greatest confirmation possible.

God had just promised 3 more years of absolute security in the land.
Assyria would not be a threat.

(VERSES 33-35)

And please recognize here the power of God.

All that had to happen to prove God wrong, was one displaced soldier had to shoot one stray arrow over the wall and this prophecy is false.

But God was in complete control.

It is commonly difficult to trust God in the present.
• Often times circumstances are so bleak
• And trials are so real and hope is so faded
• That trusting God is a tremendously difficult thing to do.

But for those who trust God in the midst of those difficult moments
THERE IS COMING A DAY of tremendous rejoicing.

For we don’t often see God’s hand at work now,
But someday we will stand on the mountain with Moses
Or we will eat in the vineyard with Hezekiah
And at once fall to our knees and realize that God really did deliver.

AND AT THAT MOMENT all the faith and all the trust
Will seem extremely worth it, and we will worship God
In a way that we never worshiped before.

• How great do you think the worship was for Moses on Mt. Sinai?
• How great do you think the worship for Hezekiah was 3 years later in
the vineyard?
• How great do you think it will be when your faith becomes sight?

If God were to just take the trial away, or never permit it at all,
There is certainly a comfort to enjoy.

But it doesn’t equal THE FUTURE REJOICING
Of those who trusted God through trials and
Eventually stand on the mountain remembering His deliverance.

God was giving Hezekiah a sign.
He would certainly deliver and some day the worship would be amazing!

The Statement The Sign
#3 THE SLAUGHTER
Isaiah 37:36-38

2 Kings adds 5 words to the beginning of this verse:
2 Kings 19:35 “Then it happened that night…”

I Love those first 3 words
“Then it happened”

Everyone who walks by faith
Is waiting for their own personal “Then it happened”

That is what Horatio Spafford meant in his great hymn:
“And Lord haste the day when thy faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll. The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, even so, it is well with my soul!”

He was waiting for his own personal “Then it happened”

Well Hezekiah got his here.
His faith was about to become sight.

(36) “the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead.”

The angel that broke the power of Egypt
Is now at work to break the power of Assyria.

Isaiah 10:16-19 “Therefore the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors; And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame. And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame, And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day. And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body, And it will be as when a sick man wastes away. And the rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number That a child could write them down.”

The Assyrians were wiped out.
And Sennacherib was forced to retreat.

• Apparently His REPORT was incomplete.
• Apparently His REASONING was faulty.
• Apparently His REALITY was a mirage.

He turned out to be the liar, not God.
SHOCKER!

(VERSES 37-38)

What an ironic ending.

For days and days Sennacherib had confidently told Hezekiah
Not to trust in the LORD, for God did not have the power to protect him.

How ironic that Sennacherib would die
In the house of a god who could not protect him.

And all of a sudden the great threat of Hezekiah’s life
Was behind him.

As we said when they looked over the wall to 185,000 dead Assyrians:
Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

And now at the completion of this story
The application is extremely easy to understand.

TRUSTING GOD IS A GOOD IDEA

There is an enemy.
• He is a roaring lion that seeks to destroy.
• He delights in attacking God’s people.

But there is also a Savior
Who can and will deliver if we put our trust in Him.

And this is not just the theme of Hezekiah’s story or the book of Isaiah.
This is the theme of Scripture.

Isaiah 40:27-31 “Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”

Psalms 25:1-3 “To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust, Do not let me be ashamed; Do not let my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.”

Psalms 27:11-14 “Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a level path Because of my foes. Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.”

Psalms 34:19-22 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones, Not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.”

Psalms 62:5-8 “My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.”

It is clear what the call of Scripture is.
God desires you and I to trust Him.

And therefore it is NO SURPRISE
That when God became flesh and dwelt among us,
His appeal was still the same.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

In fact this great book ends with that very invitation:
Revelation 22:17 “The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”

The call is for you and I to trust God and His Son Jesus Christ.

Sinners trust Him for salvation.
Believers continue to trust Him for everything else.

And when we look at Hezekiah the encouragement is to
Have a faith that stands out as different than the world.

Don’t just bring a creedal faith.
Bring a daring faith.
• Actually believe.
• Actually trust.

For when you do that, your God, the sovereign God, the living God,
The jealous God will rise up for the glory of His own name.

I’LL SAY IT AGAIN,
Your faith is given to you as a tool through which God can glorify Himself.

Trust God

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The Proven Faith of Hezekiah – Part 2
Isaiah 37:8-20
January 14, 2024

As you know we are currently in the middle of a narrative section in the book of Isaiah which is being used both as an example and a bridge by the prophet.

There are two main stories that are relayed to us here.
1) The Assyrian Invasion
2) Hezekiah’s sickness, recovery, and visit by Babylon

The stories are relayed to us out of chronological order.

Isaiah’s sickness occurred first and the invasion second, but Isaiah reverses their order because he is using them as a BRIDGE from the first half of his book to the second.

Isaiah tells us the story of the Assyrian invasion first
Because it looks back to the events of the first 35 chapters and it gives us a wonderful example of the type of faith that God is looking for.

Isaiah tells the story of the Babylonian visit second
Because it explains the coming Babylonian captivity which Isaiah will address in the second half of his book.

This segment is a bridge.

But it is also a tremendous EXAMPLE of faith.
We learn in these stories what true faith looks like
And we learn the purpose of true faith.

And just to make sure we build on what we started learning last week.

You need to remember that
Your faith is for the glory of God.

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED why God orchestrated salvation that is received BY FAITH ALONE?

Human thinking always seeks to add some form of works to the requirement of salvation.
• Every man-made religion in the world…
• Every corruption of Christianity…
• Has in common some form of works required for sinners to be saved.
• Sinners must “do” something.

But the true gospel is salvation by grace alone through faith alone.

Have you ever wondered why faith is all that God requires?

• Certainly He is free to require more.
• Certainly He is well withing His rights to require some form of religious duty to procure your salvation.
• But He doesn’t. All He requires is faith.

WHY?
Because then there is no room for anyone but Him to receive the glory of your salvation.

If you do anything to earn it, you have a right to boast about it.

Romans 4:1-3 “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

Paul was clear,
• If Abraham does anything to earn his salvation then Abraham has the right to
boast.

But there is no way God is going to allow that to happen,
Which is what Paul means when he says, “But not before God”.

So God offers a salvation where faith is the only requirement
So that no man can boast about anything in regard to being saved.

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”

AND WE ARE LEARNING THIS ALSO WITH HEZEKIAH.

LAST SUNDAY NIGHT we started looking at this narrative in Isaiah and we saw Sennacherib send his army to start taunting Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem.

We learned all about the way Satan attacks.
1. He Mocks Your Strength
2. He Confirms Your Fears
3. He Appeals To Your Lusts
4. He Encourages Your Doubts

But Hezekiah didn’t waiver.
• He denied himself (that is any plan he had for saving himself or the city)
• He cried out to Isaiah to seek God
• And specifically he prayed that God would rise up for the sake of His own glory.

We were reminded that this was the purpose of faith
And the kind of faith that God responds to.

Your faith, my faith, is a tool for the glory of God.
Our faith is like a spotlight that we shine on God
So that the world will see who He is and what He does.

If our faith is only to earn glory for ourselves…
If our faith is only to secure comforts for ourselves…
If our faith is only to maintain a lifestyle like we desire…
WE ARE MISSING THE POINT OF FAITH.

We trust God, not so that God will do what we want.
We trust God, because this is how God glorifies Himself in our lives.

Hezekiah is a great example of that.
• He trusted God with Sennacherib’s threat and God responded.

Isaiah 37:6-7 “Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. “Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

So that is where we are. WE SAW

#1 THE FIRST ATTACK
Isaiah 36:1-20

• That was Sennacherib’s taunt

#2 THE FIRST ANSWER
Isaiah 36:21 – 37:7

• Don’t answer him and pray to God

Well, let’s move on in this story.

#3 THE SECOND ATTACK
Isaiah 37:8-13

• The first attack was Sennacherib’s taunt.
• This second attack is Sennacherib’s letter.

So let’s continue to play out the scene before us.
• Sennacherib had stopped at Lachish and sent Rabshakeh with an army on to Jerusalem to taunt the city and to demand their surrender.
• Hezekiah ignored him, which was the equivalent of a rejection of Sennacherib’s terms.
• In the process God had promised that He would cause Sennacherib to hear a rumor and depart from his siege of Jerusalem.

So when Rabshakeh returns to Sennacherib with Hezekiah’s answer, Rabshakeh finds that Sennacherib has left.

(8-9) “Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish. When he heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “He has come out to fight against you,”

Now, when Sennacherib heard that rumor and left,
At the same time he left a letter for Hezekiah.

And “he sent messengers to Hezekiah”

So now we’re ready for the second leg of the attack.
• God said Assyria wouldn’t topple this city.
• God said Assyria would hear a rumor and depart.
• And so far, God is 2 for 2 at honoring His word.

BUT SATAN ISN’T FINISHED WITH THE BATTLE.
Now we get another strategy of Satan.

HE ATTACKS THE CREDIBILITY OF GOD’S WORD

(10) “Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of Judah, ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”

You’ll notice that Satan has focused his attack.
• Earlier it was an announcement to the people on the wall not to let Hezekiah deceive you.
• Here it is don’t let God deceive you.

(Interesting how the deceiver is always warning everyone else about being deceived)

Boy have we seen this tactic before.
Genesis 3:1-5 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Satan tried the same with Jesus,
• Actually trying to quote Scripture to Jesus to convince Him to throw Himself off the temple.

It is an all-out attack on the credibility of the word of God.
• God won’t do what He says.
• God can’t do what He says.
• God’s word shouldn’t be taken so literally.
• God’s word is outdated.
• God’s word is no longer relevant.
• God’s word is allegory.

We’ve heard the arguments throughout the years
AND WE STILL HEAR THEM TODAY.

It is one of the main ways Satan seeks to destroy your faith.
If He can shatter your confidence in the character of God revealed in His word, then you are well on your way to no longer believing God.

So first let’s just make it clear that GOD’S WORD IS CREDIBLE.
WHY?

I know for years (and some of you may have heard it) there has been an acronym for remembering why we trust the Bible.

MAPS
Manuscript Evidence, Archaeological Evidence, Prophecy, Statistics

And I don’t have a problem with that as people have worked it out in that fashion.

But let me show you where I hang my hat.

Hebrews 6:18 “so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”

Romans 3:4 “May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, “THAT YOU MAY BE JUSTIFIED IN YOUR WORDS, AND PREVAIL WHEN YOU ARE JUDGED.”

One thing that is clear is that God always tells the truth.
• He never lies, indeed He can’t lie.
• And therefore His word never needs to be deleted or disregarded.

Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

So anything that God says is true.
He cannot lie.

Some would say, But how do you know that the Bible is trustworthy?
How do you know that the Bible is God’s word?

Well, it says it is.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

I realize you may not put much stock in the Bible’s own self-testimony,
• But before you deny what the Bible says about itself
• You’d better ask if anyone has ever been able to prove any part of it false?

Or how about this verse?
John 10:35 “If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),”

Jesus calls the Bible there first “the word of God”
And then says it “cannot be broken”.
That’s a pretty good endorsement.

Jesus quoted from or referenced the Old Testament
Some 180 times in His discourses in the gospels.

The point is: Jesus clearly believed the Scriptures were credible and the words of God.

And we could go on and on and on with passages and messages
About the credibility of the word of God,
But just know that you can trust what God says in His word.

And this is a definite place Satan attacks.

This is in fact one of the ways you are able to test the spirits.
• If the spirit you are listening to attacks the credibility of Scripture then run!
• If the Spirit you are listening to clarifies the message of Scripture, then you
are in the right place.

But you have here Satan attacking God’s word.
“Don’t listen to God, He’ll lie to you” – says Satan.

AND HERE IS WHERE SATAN GETS EVEN MORE CRAFTY.

We might ask:
Well, if Satan doesn’t want you to listen to the word of God, what does he want you to listen to?

AND HERE IS SATAN’S LIST.
Here is Satan’s recommendation
Of what should guide your thinking and your decisions.

There’s 3

1) THE REPORT (11a)
“Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely.”

Today we might say it like this.
“Listen to the News”

“It has been well-documented what is happening all over the world
And so you can be certain what is coming into your life.”

“These are facts and you need to let facts like this guide your thinking.”

Now, WE ARE NOT SAYING that a Christian should just bury their head in the sand and be totally uninformed about what is going on in the world.

BUT WE ARE SAYING that you should be very careful basing all their decisions on what is being reported to them by someone from this world.

• Is it possible that men ever embellish?
• Is it possible that men ever exaggerate?
• Is it possible that men ever “spin”?
• Is it possible that men over omit or mislead?

Be careful when man’s report
Becomes the sole basis for why you do anything.

Satan would far rather you listen to man’s report than the word of God.

2) YOUR OWN REASON (11b)
“So will you be spared?”

In one sense, Satan wants you to take the world’s report and then logically apply it to what will also happen in your own life.

“If it happened to them, then it must happen to you.”

Satan loves to hold people in bondage here.

BUT NOT ONLY THAT, what we also see here is Satan appealing for you to apply your own logic for a solution to the situation.

It is as though Satan questions
Whether or not God is really seeing clearly.

“Surely you, who are actually in the middle of this situation,
Can clearly see what should be done. God isn’t paying attention.”

Consider Satan’s temptation of Jesus.
Matthew 4:3 “And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

• There is more than just an appeal to Jesus’ hunger there.
• There is also an appeal to His logic and reason.

There is a suggestion
• That perhaps God has not had Jesus’ best interests in mind.
• That Jesus, who is actually hungry and who actually has the power to turn stones into bread, should follow His own thinking.

Satan will do that again when seeking to get Jesus to jump off the temple.
(Insinuating that Jesus has a better plan for making Himself known than God)

Aren’t we tempted to do this any time we forsake God’s word because we think we know a better way?
• Will turning the other cheek really work?
• Will submitting to my husband really fix anything?
• Will confessing my sin actually help?

Satan constantly calls you to sit in judgment
Over the commands of God and to be the final authority
On whether or not God’s commands will actually work or not.

THAT IS WHAT ASSYRIA IS ASKING.
• God told you not to worry because He would handle it.
• Well how did that work out for all those other nations?
• You’re smarter than to listen to God on this aren’t you?

Satan would far rather you listen to your own reason than the word of God.

3) ACCEPTED REALITY (12-13)
“‘Did the gods of those nations which my fathers have destroyed deliver them, even Gozan and Haran and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? ‘Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”

Now we’re just talking about basic facts.
• This isn’t just a report.
• This isn’t your own reason.
• This is reality.

Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, Eden, Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, Ivvah
• They all trusted in their gods.
• They are all dead.

And the basic consensus of all is that
Rebelling against the king of Assyria gets you killed.

Everyone knows this.
This is undeniable law.
This is just the way things are.
This is reality.

And Satan will have you lean on that too.

If you want it spelled out clearly,
Satan’s advice is basically the antithesis of Proverbs 3:5-6

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”

Satan basically tells you that those two verses are absolutely absurd.
• Do not trust what God says.
• Do lean on your own understanding.
• Do not expect God to intervene.
• Do not trust His path.

YOU NEED TO open your eyes, get an informed report,
Trust your heart or your gut or your intuition,
See what everyone else is doing, and follow suit.

“If you try to break from the status quo of worldly logic and thinking you’re going to look like a fool and you’re going to get yourself killed.”

THAT IS HOW SATAN WORKS.

AND THAT BATTLE STILL LOOMS TODAY.

We are constantly in a battle to believe God
Instead of our own logic or wisdom.
THIS IS A BATTLE YOU NEVER STOP FIGHTING.

The very first step of conversion is REPENTANCE.
• You’ve been told that the word for repentance is METANOIA which means “to change one’s mind”.
• The very first thing you have to do to be saved is to abandon your own thinking about sin and God and judgment and start believing what God says.

When Jesus calls you TO FOLLOW Him
• He calls you to “deny yourself” and that includes your own logic and way of thinking.

Certainly when we get into the realm of SANCTIFICATION
• We are called to “be filled with the spirit” or as Paul told the Colossians, to “let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.”

• The very process of sanctification is to be “washed with the water of the word”.
• It is to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

• Sanctification is very much the ongoing process of repentance in which God changes your mind from believing your own logic to believing His word.

Spiritual MATURITY is seen
• In being “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.”
• It is when one is more than just a “forgetful hearer” of the word, but when one is a “doer”.

Effective MINISTRY is
• To see Scripture as “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;”

THIS IS A CONSTANT BATTLE.

Every part of your Christian life is a battle
To stop leaning on your own logic,
Stop basing decisions on the reports and realities of the world
And shift your thinking to believe what God says.

It is what we talked about to the youth at this past Disciple Now.
• This world is filled with voices and pieces of advice and logic and reasons, etc.
• You are being bombarded with counsel.
• But there is only one that comes from God and that is His word.
• “Be careful how you listen”

That is a real battle that you face every day.

And it is the battle that Hezekiah is facing here.

Will he believe God or will he believe the reports, his own reason, and what seems to be the prevailing reality of his day?

Well, if you think Hezekiah did good in the first battle, look at this one.
He knocks this one right out of the park!

#2 THE SECOND ANSWER
Isaiah 37:14-20

That is one of the most amazing scenes of faith in Scripture.

I hope you notice how much Hezekiah’s faith has solidified
Even since that first battle.

That first time he heard the taunt of Rabshakeh we remember how he responded:
Isaiah 37:1 “And when King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of the LORD.”

• We remember that broken, probably scared, helpless man.
• He couldn’t even pray, but he sent word for Isaiah to pray.
• He was a fearful man.

But this time you see a confident man.
(14) “Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.”

I told you before that the final estimation of Hezekiah’s life is that he trusted God.
2 Kings 18:5 “He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him.”

Something interesting there.
That word for “trusted” is actually (BA-TACK)

And you have seen it before.
Isaiah 32:9-10 “Rise up, you women who are at ease, And hear my voice; Give ear to my word, You complacent daughters. Within a year and a few days You will be troubled, O complacent daughters; For the vintage is ended, And the fruit gathering will not come.”

There it is translated “complacent”
It is a word that means “to feel safe, to be confident, to feel secure, to be careless”.

• Isaiah actually reproached the women of Jerusalem for having such feelings
since they felt safe in the midst of their sin.

But it is interesting that Hezekiah now has that same peace and feeling of safety in the midst of the battle because he is trusting God.

I love him taking that letter to God.
That letter was meant to be hand delivered to the ruler of Jerusalem.
• The people brought it to Hezekiah.
• Hezekiah took it to the real leader.

And he takes it with such quiet confidence.
• It’s almost like he walks in there with golf clubs on his shoulder and says, “Oh, God, by the way, you got a letter from the king of Assyria. See you later.”

And then look at this great prayer.

(15-20) “Hezekiah prayed to the LORD saying, “O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. “Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. “Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. “Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, LORD, are God.”

Ok, now let’s make sure we understand the point.
• This is NOT a story about prayer.
• This is NOT a story meant to teach you how to pray a prayer that God will answer.

THIS IS A STORY ABOUT FAITH.
So when we read that prayer,
I don’t want you to analyze how Hezekiah prayed.

Here’s what I want you to do.
Read that prayer and tell me this:
WHAT DID HEZEKIAH BELIEVE?

• We want to examine his faith.
• We want to know what it was he believed, and it becomes evident in his prayer.

We want to know what true faith looks like.

We want to see THE OBJECT of his faith.
• Hezekiah is not leaning on his own understanding.
• Hezekiah is not trusting in the circulating reports.
• Hezekiah is not believing Sennacherib’s reality.

Hezekiah believes something different.
In this prayer you see what he believes.

1) GOD IS OUR GOD (16a)
“O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim,”

It begins with a simple conviction that
Yahweh of hosts is in fact “the God of Israel”

Hezekiah is speaking in a covenantal sense here.
“He is our God, He is not their God.”

While in one sense you can say
“That He is the God of all the world and we are all His children”

In a saving sense, He is the God of His people alone.

He is for us, in a way in which He is not for the world.
(Romans 8:28 certainly bears that out)

Take Jesus in His High Priestly prayer.
John 17:9 “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours;”

IT IS THE BELIEF THAT GOD IS FOR US.
• He is our God, by reason of His covenant which He made with us.

Hezekiah is confident that when looking at Assyria
And then looking at Israel that God is for us.

• Not because we deserve it more than they.
• Not because we are somehow more righteous.
• But because He has chosen us to be in a saving relationship with Him.
• We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
• We are His bride, His chosen, His elect.

It is purely by grace, but it is real none the less.
GOD IS FOR US
Hezekiah believes that.

2) GOD IS SOVEREIGN (16b)
“You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.”

While He is the God of Israel in a saving sense.
In a sovereign sense He remains the God of the whole world.

• Every nation rises and falls at His command.
• He determines “the when” and “the where” of every man.
• He appoints every man’s times and the boundaries of their habitation.

Isaiah 40:22-24 “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble.”

• All creatures answer to Him.
• All nations answer to Him.
• All rulers answer to Him.

And if God declares that a nation is finished, they are finished.
If God declares Satan can’t have you, he can’t have you.
Hezekiah believes that

3) GOD IS LIVING (17-19)
“Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. “Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them.”

It’s called anthropomorphic language.
• Hezekiah speaks of God’s ears, His and His eyes.
• He is the God who sees and the God who hears.
• He is “the living God”

See there’s a reason why Sennacherib was so successful in mocking the gods of all those other nations.
• There’s a reason he got away with it.
• There’s a reason none of those other gods rose up to stop him.

• They weren’t real.
• They couldn’t hear.
• They couldn’t see.
• They weren’t alive.

Psalms 115:4-7 “Their idols are silver and gold, The work of man’s hands. They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see; They have ears, but they cannot hear; They have noses, but they cannot smell; They have hands, but they cannot feel; They have feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a sound with their throat.”

But Sennacherib has never come against a God like this.

HE IS THE LIVING GOD.
Jeremiah 10:6-10 “There is none like You, O LORD; You are great, and great is Your name in might. Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You. But they are altogether stupid and foolish In their discipline of delusion—their idol is wood! Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, And gold from Uphaz, The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith; Violet and purple are their clothing; They are all the work of skilled men. But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation.”

You can walk into a wax museum and slap a fake gorilla with very little consequence, but if you try the same thing in a zoo you’re liable to find yourself in trouble.

Sennacherib never tangled with a living God before.

See, HIS REALITY IS SKEWED,
And it left out some very important information.

• He did wipe out all those other nations.
The reports and the reality he threw at Hezekiah weren’t false,
They just weren’t totally true.

He omitted the fact that none of those nations had real and living gods.
Hezekiah knows he is in a different category than all the rest.

4) GOD IS JEALOUS (20)
“Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, LORD, are God.”

Exodus 34:14 “for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God”

GOD IS JEALOUS.
• I know jealousy is considered a sin for us
• And we are told not to demonstrate it.

But that is because our jealousy is rooted in envy and pride.

But when God is jealous it is a righteous jealousy
Because He is jealous for what is rightfully His. GLORY!

Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”

Isaiah 43:10-13 “You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. “I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me. “It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And I am God. “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”

Isaiah 44:6-8 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me. ‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, From the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming And the events that are going to take place. ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’”

Hezekiah knows that
• God is jealous for the glory of His name
• And He is not about to be compared to some false god,
• Nor be mocked by some created lump of dirt.

SO HEZEKIAH CRIES OUT TO GOD.

Now TONIGHT we’ll look at God’s response to this prayer,
But THIS MORNING can you see what Hezekiah believes?

How do you know Hezekiah believes that?
• Because he prays? No
• It is because he doesn’t take his problem to anyone else.

If God is really our God
And if God is really sovereign
And if God is really living
And if God is really jealous
Then why would you need to take this letter anywhere else?

Raymond Ortlund wrote:
“Sometimes Christians live a creedal faith rather than a daring faith. And Isaiah is talking bout an audacious faith that the world cannot understand. A creedal faith says, “I believe in God the Father Almighty” and so forth. That’s good. What if we didn’t believe that? We’d really be in trouble. But a creedal faith is a beginning point only. After all, if people who not believe in God the Father Almighty often live like people who do believe in God the Father Almighty, then living by faith must be more profound than a creed. God is calling us to live by a daring faith because the world is daring us to live by faith in God.”
(Ortlund, Raymond [Preaching The Word Commentary: Isaiah, God Saves Sinners; Crossway; Wheaton, IL, 2005] pg. 206)

Do you see the difference between a creedal faith and a real or daring faith?

We can sit in a pew all day long and AFFIRM THE TRUTHS Hezekiah just revealed about God in his prayer.

THAT IS A CREED.
• We can affirm that He is our God.
• We can affirm that He is Sovereign.
• We can affirm that He is living.
• We can affirm that He is jealous.

But if we never trust Him in the battle, our faith doesn’t amount to much.
HEZEKIAH TOOK HIS LETTER TO GOD.
• Not to Egypt
• Not to Ethiopia
• Not even to Isaiah this time
• Hezekiah approached God and God alone.

God alone was his hope
God alone was his trust
God alone was his salvation
God was not just a creed, God was his savior.

Do you see the difference?
Is it any wonder God responded to save?

Hezekiah, by faith, gave God the opportunity to glorify Himself
And God will seize that opportunity.

That is the purpose of your faith.
It is the glory of God, not so that you or I can boast.

May we all be encouraged to trust God.